Australia retail sales grew 7.1% mom in November, revised up from preliminary result of 7.0% mom, followed 1.4% mom rise in October. Ben James, Director of Quarterly Economy Wide Surveys, said: “The rise is led by Victoria (22.4%) as Melbourne retail stores were able to trade for a full month in November. Excluding Victoria, turnover rose 2.6%.”
Other states and territories to record an increase in turnover were Queensland (4.5%), New South Wales (2.3%), Western Australia (1.2%), Tasmania (3.4%), the Australian Capital Territory (2.5%), and the Northern Territory (2.2 per cent). The brief lockdown in South Australia (-0.2%) led to a relatively flat result, as falls in most industries were offset by a rise in food sales.
China CPI turned positive in Dec, PPI deflation flowed to -0.4% yoy
China’s CPI turned positive to 0.2% yoy in December, up from -0.50% yoy, above expectation of 0.1% yoy. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, stood at 0.4% yoy, down from 0.5% yoy.
“Ahead of New Year’s Day and the Spring Festival, consumer demand increased, and feed costs also rose,” said Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician at the NBS. “At the same time, affected by unusual weather and rising costs, the CPI turned from a decline into an increase.”
PPI dropped to -0.4% yoy in December, up from November’s -1.5% yoy, higher than expectation of -0.8% yoy. That’s also the slowest factory gate deflation since last February.